Hatchet for the Honeymoon

John Harrington begins murdering brides at his bridal dress factory near Paris, driven by a childhood trauma. He hacks them to death with a meat cleaver, then burns the bodies in the greenhouse furnace and uses the ashes as fertilizer. Each murder seems to bring him a bit closer to a memory he cannot fully face.

Inspector Russell drops by the bridal salon to question John about the six missing models. Without concrete evidence, the investigation stalls and John maintains his innocent facade while the disappearances hang over him.

Helen Wood comes to apply for a job vacated by a disappeared model and is hired after John is impressed by her wit and beauty. She becomes a potential new presence in John's life, unknowingly stepping into his dangerous circle. The factory atmosphere grows tenser as she joins the staff.

Over the next few days, John develops feelings for Helen and takes her out to dinner. Mildred's uneasy awareness and advice to keep the relationship discreet add strain to the growing bond. The dinner scene marks a turn from professional to personal danger.

When John returns home, Mildred is there and reveals that her vacation was a plot to catch him in the act of infidelity. She intends to control their life, and John feels increasingly trapped by her constant presence.

Dressed in a wedding gown, John hacks Mildred to death with the cleaver and buries her in the greenhouse grounds. He then burns her remains in the furnace, keeping the ashes in a handbag. The act completes his physical murder and severs any immediate trace of her.

John's handbag containing Mildred's ashes becomes a constant reminder of his crime, and Mildred haunts him as if still alive, even though those around him insist she is alive. The psychological pressure of the haunting gnaws at him.

John makes another attempt to murder a different woman, but Inspector Russell intervenes and foils the act. With the police close, his urges to kill remain, threatening to slip out at any moment.

To uncover John, Helen agrees to participate in a sting operation orchestrated by Inspector Russell. She is sent to lure John into a concealed room where the murders began.

John escorts Helen to change into a wedding dress and tells her he never meant to hurt her, intending to fit this last piece into place. He strikes at Helen, but she blocks the blow, and the memory of his boyhood murder is unleashed: as a child he killed his mother and stepfather with a cleaver.

Inspector Russell and a team burst in as the confrontation unfolds, and John is loaded into a police van. Helen's deception and the sting allow the authorities to capture him before any further victims occur.

A handbag of Mildred's ashes is placed beside John in the police van, and Mildred appears to him again. She declares they will be together forever, first in an insane asylum and then in Hell. John erupts into terror as the truth of his crimes is laid bare.